Daddy Day Camp (2007)

Daddy Day Camp (2007)

Because he's an Oscar winner with a rep now for headlining turkeys, watching Cuba Gooding Jr. in trash like Daddy Day Camp almost hurts. At this point, you just feel so bad for him. Filling in for Eddie Murphy in a septically humored kiddie sequel to Daddy Day Care, Gooding gives a mug-job performance that consists mainly of reacting (again and again) to nasty smells. Fred Savage of The Wonder Years directs, and it also stings to think of little Kevin Arnold reduced to pantsing his actors from behind the camera for a laugh that never comes.

The Girlfriend Experience (2009)

The Girlfriend Experience (2009)


The Girlfriend Experience is one of Steven Soderbergh's bite-size, semi-improvised, shot-on-DV doodles (like Bubble or Full Frontal), and it's the best one he's made. As it opens, we see jagged medium-range shots of a man and a woman murmuring to each other in a taxi, a fancy low-lit bar, and a bedroom. By the time they wake up, we've more or less decided that they're a couple. Only they're not. The guy is some sort of wealthy finance dude, and the girl is a high-end escort who provides not just sex but conversation, canoodling over late-night wine, and morning-after chitchat — the illusion of intimacy.




Shot during the early days of the economic crisis, The Girlfriend Experience is a mysterious and arresting look at how the culture of money turns love and desire into something you want to control. The escort, Chelsea, is played by Sasha Grey, a real-life adult-video star who is not so much a natural actress as a natural-born placid, affectless Barbie doll (imagine Eliot Spitzer consort ?Ashley Dupré with a touch of Demi Moore). The movie has the fascination of a documentary about a fictional character. Chelsea, with her ambitious teasing blankness, occupies the center of a crumbling mosaic of ?money, status, deception, and manipulated lust. We see her out with her clients; bickering with her live-in lover (Chris Santos), a gym trainer who pretends her job doesn't bother him; and in meetings, some sinister, that promise to advance her career. Chelsea's clients all seek ''the girlfriend experience,'' but they aren't alone; she, too, tries to barter herself into romance. Soderbergh ?has captured an America in which the line between ? selling out and selling yourself has never been thinner. ?(Available on cable via on demand) A

Drag me to hell

Drag me to hell


Drag Me to Hell is a great gift this summer for all you horror flick lovers. Sam Raimi has come out with the most entertaining horror film of the season. You may wonder how a horror film could be entertaining when it is actually meant to be spooky. But the film’s uniqueness lies in its entertaining aspect, which is filled with humour and has its set of scary scenes too.

Film: Drag Me To Hell
Cast: Alison Lohman as Christine Brown, Justin Long as Clay Dalton, Loma Raver as Mrs. Ganush, Dileep Rao as Rham Jas, David Paymer as Mr. Jacks, Adriana Barraza as Shaun San Dena, Chelcie Ross as Leonard Dalton
Written by: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Rating: 4/5

Drag Me to Hell successfully balances the humour and the fear factor that makes the movie likeable. The movie is a combination of all the right ingredients that qualifies it as a good entertainer of the season.

Alison Lehman plays the character of Christine Brown who is the main lead of the film. Hell breaks loose when she does not acknowledge a loan extension for an old gypsy woman, which compels her to vacate the house. And you are absolutely right if you guessed that the old lady would cause terror in Christine’s life.

With all the voodoo power the gypsy woman puts Lamia the ghost on task to torment Christine for three days after which she will be dumped into Inferno. Dileep Rao plays the part of a psychic with the help of her boyfriend (Justin long) who is a psychology professor come to the rescue of Christine who help her to fail the curse.



The film Drag Me to Hell is not entirely horrific, though it has sufficient scary scenes to make you jump off the seats. At the same time you have the funny moments that are very refreshing. In total the movie is a thorough entertainer. The director Sam Raimi gets thumbs up for bringing the Evil Dead genre back.

The movie is perfectly set in the background of the 50’s and 60’s, which is a common feature of the classic ghost movies. Drag me to Hell has the qualities of Raimi’s earlier horror films, it actually fares better in terms of direction, characterisation and story; from the opening scene to the last thrilling and shocking final scene it deserves applause. The plot cruises along the story quite smoothly with series of scary and laughter scenes.

Christine Brown’s role is very natural and you will fall in love with her character, which is true to a reality. She is working hard to be in the job, and the situation compels her to give in and she commits a mistake. But she is remorseful of the act and rectifies her blunder. And you have Justin Long who seems the only odd man in the film; all his acting potential is simply down the drain and he looks very young to play a role of a professor and this serves as the only drawback of the film.

Drag Me to Hell has good amount of animated scenes, scary moments, laughter rides and thrilling experiences. All the horror fans will simply fall in love with the film. The movie is not loaded with gory and grouse scenes; the special effects are not too loud either and that is what makes the movie stand out. You laugh one moment and the next moment scared to death. Watch the movie to feel all this at the same time.

Angels and Demons

Angels and Demons



Angels and Demons is a film directed by Ron Howard and it rests on the platform of kidnapper’s demand and the ticking bomb that can blow off the Vatican City. Besides these, there is death of Pope, and the conclave of cardinal will in no time select a new Holy Father.

Film: Angels and Demons
Cast: Tom Hanks as Langdon, Ewan McGregor as Camerlango, Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria, Stellan Skarsgard as Richter
Writer: Dan Brown
Director: Ron Howard
Run Time: 2 hours 18 minutes
Rating: 3/5




One shot shows Camerlengo; the priest played by Ewan McGregor suddenly begins lecturing the Cardinals on the church histories and that is for the benefit of the audience who at the end will be definitely grateful for the briefing.

These cardinals were about to get killed, Vatican city was about to be destroyed as there is a bomb hidden somewhere by a group of anti-church elements. It is a well-crafted thriller and you can consider the film Angels and Demons providing with all thrill and the entertainment on the celluloid, if you set aside the desperate chase all across Rome for finding the bomb and few other historical explanations.

In the film it has been portrayed that there exist a long cold war between science and religion that is the church group with illuminati.

The movie Angels and Demons is based on Dan Brown’s novel and it has been written much before the DaVinci Code. But the movie was set aside to be made after DaVinci code. In angels and Demons, it is again Tom Hanks who plays the role of a scholar and a professor Robert Langdon who has been summoned at Vatican to solve the mystery.

Initially it was known that some anti matter was stolen from Geneva, that is from CERN large Hadron Collider and it was assumed that it has been done by the anti-church group Illuminati. Illuminati have been shown as a secret group that works against the church to take revenge because of the time when scientists like Galileo was prosecuted.

Now, it is Tom Hanks who is in search of the kidnappers who have kidnapped four cardinals and about to be prosecuted if the demand of the kidnappers is not met with. But, to my knowledge there was no demands from the illuminati, it simply wants to take revenge and wanted to see more than white smoke billowing from the church towers of Vatican City.

There is no reason why the bomb was hidden with clues left in such a way that Tom Hanks had no major problem in unearthing it with taking the correct clues. Tom Hanks, the professor was accompanied by Vittoria Vetra played by Ayelet Zurer. It was Vittoria, the scientist who has created the deadly vial that is inside the sinister bomb.


The audience also came to know that Vittoria’s father was killed in the theft of this vial, the anti matter. So what was the purpose of Vittoria? Her motive was to let know that the battery will run down, she wanted to get back the secret journals of her father and above all was in a mission in the film to accompany Tom Hanks. The desperate quest of Tom Hanks is also accompanied by Camerlonga played by Ewan McGregor.

In the film you will be amazed to see the pristine chapels, churches and the tombs. Time and again the conflict between science and religion emerges and tilts from one side to the other. However, towards end the director makes a fine balance between the agnostics and the believers of God.

The film was definitely not allowed any shot inside Sistine Chapel and it can never be possible after Dan Brown’s book on DaVinci Code. So Ron Howard should be satisfied that the film has got positive reviews from Vatican media.

The movie Night at the Museum

The movie Night at the Museum

The movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a total disaster if you would call it, as the film does not has an intriguing plot to draw your attention to say the least. It probably won’t even be successful in bringing a smile to an empty brain. One would certainly prefer a meaningless action movie; at least it will have some action, won’t it?










MOVIE REVIEW : -

Film: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Cast: Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson as Jedediah Smith, Bill Hader as General Custer, Hank Hazaria as Kah Mun Rah/Thinker, Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible, Dick Van Dyke as Cecil Fredericks, Clint Howard as Mission Controller, Steve Coogan as Octavius, Eugene Levy as Albert Einstein

Director: Shaun Levy

Writer: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon

Run time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Rating: 2/5


But still, the movie may sound entertaining may be because of the title that instigates you to watch the movie. The actual fact though remains loud and clear- the film is just hollow that will probably annoy some or larger section of the audience for sure.

Now let us move on to the story of the movie but before that please note- it is damn predictable. For god’s sake don’t be surprised; by now you would have certainly factored in the film’s fate. Ok let us not go off-track, Larry Daley played by Bill Stiller has manipulated his job profile to get appointed as the security guard of the Museum so that he can save his friends from the that place. The actual thing is that the Museum is undergoing a facelift and all the historic exhibits are being overthrown and are on their way to a new destination- National Archive where they will be dumped. And here is the saviour Larry who wants to help them out from this menace.

The characters that play historic figures and represent the great personalities force you to think you would rather watch a documentary film on them rather than such portrayals. Anyway Larry succeeds in setting them free from the shambles with some magic pill invented by the Pharaoh Kah Mun Rah (Hank Azaria). Yippee! Let us celebrate the freedom of great men! The redeemed exhibits are Teddy Roosevelt played by Robin Williams, Bill Hader as General Custer, Steve Coogan as Octavius and Eugene Levy as Albert Einstein.

The characters of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian remind you of a video game and the animated characters are of all shapes and sizes, basically very random. The small sized action figures are very irritating as they are all over the place that will make you fume. Amidst all the negative factors of the film is actress Amy Adams who plays the character of Amelia Earhart and she brings some respite for the film and the audience, as she is simply adorable.

A mindless action film would definitely suffice the viewers. But Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a total disappointment rather a troublesome experience. There is nothing interesting in the film except that the title will draw some attention and people may think it will be an entertainment served on the platter. Do not have any such imaginations because you may end up becoming an exhibit in the museum, of course for all the wrong reasons. And probably want to be unnoticed for the fear of being saved by Larry! The film is rated as PG for action and brief language.